The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a cursor display method and a measuring apparatus which can decrease the amount of operation required for an operator to move a cursor and allow the operator to distinctly view deviation of a first attributive value of an object from a normal value.
The process for CRL (Crown Rump Length) measurement by a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus will be described hereinafter.
As shown in FIG. 1(a), an image of a fetus F taken by an ultrasonic probe is displayed on a screen.
As shown in FIG. 1(b), a first cursor C1 is initially displayed in an initial position at the center of the screen.
As shown in FIG. 1(c), the operator moves the first cursor C1 and positions it at the head (or the rump) of the fetus F.
As shown in FIG. 1(d), a second cursor C2 is initially displayed in an initial position located 10 mm straight below the first cursor C1.
As shown in FIG. 1(e), the operator moves the second cursor C2 and positions it at the rump (or the head) of the fetus F.
Then, as shown in FIG. 1(f), the distance between the first cursor C1 and the second cursor C2 is converted into an actual length and the length is displayed as the CRL on the screen. (In this example, CRL=20 mm.) Also, GA (Gestation Age) which is estimated from the measured CRL based on normal correlation between GA and CRL is displayed on the screen. (In this example, GA=62 days.) Growth is determined by numerically comparing the GA estimated from the last menstruation date (e.g., 63 days) with the GA estimated from the CRL (e.g., 62 days). In addition, growth is also determined from a graph as shown in FIG. 2.
However, there are the following problems in using the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus:
(1) Since the initial positions of the first and second cursors are fixed, the amount of operation required for moving the cursor often increases when the cursor is positioned at the image of an object; and PA0 (2) Without a graph, deviation of the first attributive value of the object from a normal value can not be distinctly ascertained.